Chris InglisKing’s Bounty II is a turn-based fantasy RPG from 1C Entertainment and released on August 24, 2021, on multiple platforms (1C Entertainment was bought out by Tencent and rebranded Fulqrum Games in 2022). Despite being part of a longstanding series, this is the first true numbered sequel. The game features fully voice-acted characters, detailed 3D environments, and immersive battlefield action. The King’s Bounty series began in 1990 and has had several iterations, the latest being King’s Bounty: Dark Side in 2014. I generally bounced between this series and the Heroes of Might & Magic Series until Dark Side which I found to be more engaging. King’s Bounty II excited long-time fans, including my brother-in-law Justin and I, as it introduces a third-person view, making it appealing to newcomers while retaining elements beloved by veteran players.
Players choose one of three heroes: Aivar the fighter, Katharine the magician, or Elisa the paladin. I chose Aivar, voiced by Doug Cockle, who brings a distinct tone to the character. The game starts with Aivar in a jail cell at Fort Crucis, showcasing detailed character interactions. As I walked around the barracks and started talking to people, I was told some spearmen would join me on my journey.
If you haven’t played a game in the series before, your character has command over units of troops. Your character doesn’t fight themselves, other than using scrolls or casting spells. Levelling, upgrading, and equipping your hero will increase the magic and strength of your units. I was given a unit of three spearmen to travel with me, a horse, and then sent to a vendor to purchase a unit of three dogs of war. The number of actual troops within a unit is significantly lower than in previous games where you could have 200 spearmen, 300 archers and so on. Numbers are intentionally low to get players to try different unit types as you come across them in your travels, but there are further limitations with ideals and morale.
Stepping into the wilderness in King’s Bounty II, the detailed environment was stunning, bringing the fantasies of previous games to life but in a closer player perspective. We get to physically run around in the world amongst villages, altars and obelisks, which provide bonus stats such as extra damage, increased spell strength, and more. Each character has set ideal alignments—Order, Anarchy, Power, and Finesse—that influence story progression and quest availability.
For example, my first side quest was to either side with Dwarves to gain order points or choosing to side with the Humans to gain anarchy. However, choosing one path can lock out other quests. Units also have ideals, and morale is affected by mixing different ideal units. Grouping similar ideal units can earn morale bonuses, while mixing opposing units can result in turn penalties. You can vary the effect of morale by spending talent points to negate the differences from your army to a point.
The turn-based combat has always been key to the King’s Bounty series and is again hex-based in King’s Bounty II, only with unit placement and terrain having a greater affect on strategy. Elevation and line of sight matter, and initiative stats determine turn order. Healing and resurrection of units post-battle with gold are new features, allowing players to maintain army strength without relying solely on merchants. There’s incredible detail in the hex-based battle zones utilising terrain and obstacles from those exact locations, not placeholder combat boards like in earlier entries of the series.
Exploration remains linear-branching despite the initial feeling of it being more open-world, with looting and puzzle-solving adding to the experience. For instance, replacing statue arms revealed hidden treasure. However, the character’s slow walking speed necessitates using a horse mount for faster exploration, though dismounting is required to interact with loot and NPCs. Fast travel is available via road steles.
Overall, King’s Bounty II has evolved the series bigger and better than ever with outstanding visuals, a decent story with heaps of side quests and enhanced turn-based combat elements. Immersive exploration, detailed environments, and strategic hex-based battle zones utilsing in-world locations contribute to a highly engaging experience. King’s Bounty II is available on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. Also keep an eye out for the next game from Fulqrum Publishing called Byulina, by the developers at Far Far Games.
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